Home » Syria » From Syria to Amman, Jordan (10 December 2001)

"We are not demanders of War and Terror, but we will defend ourselves against War and Terror" read the sign at the frontier. It was lunchtime and the road was hectic with children laughing and shouting their way home from school. Their school uniform was a dark green military uniform complete with shoulder epaulettes. The British Consulate in Istanbul had 'strongly advised' me not to enter the country. Welcome to Syria.

From Syria to Amman, Jordan (10 December 2001)

Roundtheworldbybike
2005-11-17 20:40:40

Displayed times (last time: )

"We are not demanders of War and Terror, but we will defend ourselves against War and Terror" read the sign at the frontier. It was lunchtime and the road was hectic with children laughing and shouting their way home from school. Their school uniform was a dark green military uniform complete with shoulder epaulettes. The British Consulate in Istanbul had 'strongly advised' me not to enter the country. Welcome to Syria.

I met my first scary Syrians - a family of orange pickers who housed me, fed me, thrashed me at chess and waved me on my way the next morning laden with about 40 oranges. Welcome to Syria. I spent the next evening in Lebanon in the company of Monsieur Diemoz, an octogenarian Frenchman who worked as the concierge at an old people's home. Roquefort for breakfast fuelled me into Beirut where I watched possibly the worst ever (and hence funniest) performance of Macbeth. My journey is getting surreal.

Post-war Beirut now boasts a stunningly renovated downtown area, classy restaurants and coffee bars, open -top BMW's, mobile phones and fat cigars. My muddy shoes, ripped trousers and non -coiffured hair did not seem very appropriate. It is true that large areas of the city are still laced with bullet holes and hardship, but the city and its people are looking forward to better times now. I stayed with Raymond Khoury, a Sierra Leone born restaurateur who had been forced by war to flee the country overnight. Now in the land of his fathers he has turned his hand to teaching Physics. I stayed too with Sandy and Art Charles - in his mid -50's Art had pedaled across the USA without a single day off, putting me to shame! He could afford gallons of chocolate milk though - I put it down to that! And him thrashing me at table tennis�? I was just being a polite guest! Bursting from almost incessant eating and Middle Eastern hospitality I was ready to tackle the biggest mountains of my journey as I turned ...